Legacy
by Jessondra
Summary: Sequel to A New Beginning, Brooklyn still grieves Jesse, but when he finds a bright angel in the upper rooms of the castle, his grieving heart starts to soften.


Okay, here it goes. This is a sequel to A New Beginning. You know the drill, all the characters belong to disney/buena vista. Jesse, Christyana, and Odet are mine. Odet doesn't actually appear, but she is mentioned.   
  
Legacy   
January 30, 2000   
  
Brooklyn sighed as he watched Lex at the computer typing, in hyper mode, his e-mail to his "friend." In the kitchen, Broadway, banged pots and pans together, as he prepared dinner.   
  
Brooklyn sighed again. ~I have no talent. When I die, no one will remember me. My legacy is to be the lonliest gargoyle on the planet.~ He said to himself.   
  
Since David and Fox were out, and Alex was in bed, Brooklyn decided to take a walk around the castle. As he did so, he heard beautiful music coming from somewhere upstairs.   
  
He cautiously crept up the stairwell, past the library and the gym, and came to an open door.   
  
There, he saw Owen Burnette sitting on a couch reading a newspaper, with his shoes off. And sitting at a grand piano, in the center of the room, was a small girl, playing music from Les Miserables. Although small, the girl had to be fifteen or sixteen.   
  
In the middle of Castle on the Clouds, she stopped.   
  
"Owen. . ."   
  
The stiff man stood from his seat and perched next to the girl, placing his hands on the keyboard.   
  
"Like this." He said, and started playing the melody. He stopped in the middle, and had the girl take over.   
  
Her melody was equally beautiful, and Brooklyn found himself singing the words, and not knowing it. The girl stopped.   
  
"Owen, did you hear that?"   
  
"No. Continue your study."   
  
"I heard somebody singing." she said standing and walking over to the door.   
  
Brooklyn, realizing his mistake, scurried into the darkness.   
  
"Christy, there is no one there."   
  
"It was so beautiful." She said seating herself at the piano again.   
  
"I bet it was." He commented, not looking up from his paper.   
  
The girl sighed defeat and continued the song.   
  
* * *   
  
Goliath and Elisa sat on the couch in the library, watching a movie. He sat with his arm around her, and his other hand sitting protectively on the small bulge her stomach had become. Brooklyn hated to interupt, but. . .   
  
"Goliath. . ."   
  
Both heads turned. "What is it, Brooklyn?"   
  
"I need to talk."   
  
Goliath stood from his seat, leaving Elisa there, and followed Brooklyn out into the hallway.   
  
"What do you wish to talk about?"   
  
"Love."   
  
"Uhm. . .well, okay. There comes a time in every. . ."   
  
"No, Goliath. Not that. I know that Jesse's only been gone for a little over a month, but I think I'm in love again. With someone else. Not Angela. She fell for Broadway, anyways."   
  
"Okay. Who is she? Another gargoyle?"   
  
"No. I don't know who she is. She was upstairs playing the piano with Owen."   
  
"Ah. That's his daughter."   
  
"Daughter?!"   
  
* * *   
  
"He has got to stop this falling in love with humans thing." Hudson said, as he and Goliath watched Brooklyn standing in the shadows if the music room.   
  
"What's wrong with loving humans?" Elisa asked walking up behind them.   
  
"Ah, hello there lass. How are ye feeling? And I dinna mean anything by that. I just don't wanna see the lad get hurt again."   
  
"Who is it this time."   
  
"Burnette's daughter."   
  
"He has a daughter?"   
  
"Um-hum." Goliath said, entering the conversation. "Her mother dumped her here, a couple weeks ago. She spends all her time up here. He doesn't allow her to wander the castle. I don't think he wants her to meet us."   
  
"Looks like Brooklyn's about to change that." Elisa said, watching the young male creep up behind the girl.   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn walked up and tapped the girl on the shoulder. The music instantly stopped, and the girl whirrled around.   
  
"Hi there." Brooklyn said, bracing himself for a scream.   
  
The girl just sat there staring at him, with her head cocked to one side. "You're one of those gargoyles, aren't you?"   
  
"Yeah, how'd you know?"   
  
"I watch the news. Plus, I'm more like my father than I let on."   
  
"You're magical?"   
  
"Let's not get into that. So, what's your name?"   
  
"I'm Brooklyn. Who are you?"   
  
"Christyana. But I prefer to be called Christy, or even better, Chris."   
  
"Christyana Burnette."   
  
"My mom named me. That was before she dumped me here and split for Paris. But I don't mind. I like it here. It's alot better than living in the ghettos, that's for sure."   
  
"I heard you playing the piano. It was beautiful."   
  
"That was you singing, wasn't it?" Brooklyn nodded. "It was lovely. If I play it again, would you sing?"   
  
"Sure, why not."   
  
* * *   
  
The two bonded instantly, and they found out that they made a pretty good duo. Brooklyn decided that they should go out on their first date. Which basically ment out of the music room.   
  
"I really shouldn't. I don't think Owen would like it."   
  
"What he doesn't know, can't hurt you. He won't be back till after midnight. We can be back before then."   
  
"Where do you want to go?"   
  
"How about the park?"   
  
"Brooklyn, it's the middle of February. I'll freeze."   
  
"How about someplace that's special to me?"   
  
"Sounds good. Is it in the castle?"   
  
Brooklyn nodded, and took her by the hand.   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn lit one of the candles. "When Jesse died, I had Xanatos take out all the lights, and replace them with candles."   
  
"Wow, she must've meant a lot to you."   
  
"More than life itself. I almost commited suicide, when she died, but then I received, a gift of hope. But enough about the past."   
  
They sat down on the bed. "You can talk about it if you want to. I don't really mind." she scooched closer to him.   
  
Brooklyn looked into her deep eyes, and instantly forgot about Jesse. Christy, got on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck.   
  
"You know, you are a lot cuter than most of the guys I've dated. Tall, dark, handsome, you fit all three." She pressed her lips to his.   
  
His first thought was to jump away, but her firm grip around his neck held him there, and he slowly melted into her kiss. She pulled away grinning.   
  
"You've done this before." he said, also grinning.   
  
"A few times." she said falling back onto the bed, and pulling him with her.   
  
"Uh, Chris, I don't think this is a good idea. I have a habit of impregnating the girls I sleep with."   
  
"So what?" she said, and moved his talons to unbutton her blouse.   
  
* * *   
  
"Have any of you seen Christy anywhere?" Owen asked, entering the gargoyles' quarters.   
  
"I saw her with Brooklyn in the music room around eight." Lex said, not looking up from his computer.   
  
"Well, if you see her again, tell her I'm looking for her, and send her up." Owen said, and left the room.   
  
"I saw her and Brooklyn heading towards Jesse's old room." Elisa said, smiling a private smile.   
  
Goliath chuckled. "Maybe we shouldn't bother them just yet."   
  
"Or maybe we should." Elisa said. She stood up, and walked out of the room, swinging her hips slightly, but in the opposite direction of Jesse's room, beckoning to Goliath.   
  
Goliath growled low in his throat and followed her.   
  
"I personally think they're all crazy." Broadway said taking a bite from his sandwich.   
  
"That's not how you felt last night." Angela said, looking up from her book and grinning.   
  
Broadway blushed, and took another bite of his sandwich, turning on the TV.   
  
"I personally think _you_ are all crazy." Lex said turning from his computer. "All I need is a computer and some electricity to make me happy."   
  
"Yeah, and the email address and screen name of a pretty girl." Brooklyn said from the doorway.   
  
It was Lex's turn to blush.   
  
"Hey Brooklyn, where've you been?" Broadway asked.   
  
"Hey, that is none of your business."   
  
"Do you know where Christyana is? Owen was looking for her. . ."   
  
* * *   
  
"Where have you been?" Owen demanded.   
  
"I was looking around the castle." Chris said.   
  
"You don't just go wandering off without telling anybody. I didn't know where you were."   
  
"Brooklyn did." Chris said, then relizing her mistake, slapped a hand over her mouth.   
  
"I'll deal with this later. I've something to do. But I want you to go straight to your room. Now."   
  
Christy turned in the direction of her room, and stormed off. Angry tears flooded her eyes.   
  
"Why is he so damn protective?!" She asked of her reflection.   
  
"Because he doesn't want to lose the most precious gem in his life." Brooklyn said from the window.   
  
Christy was instantly in his arms, sobbing. "Hey, what's with the emotional flood?" he asked.   
  
"Owen yelled at me. He's never yelled at me before. I-I-"   
  
"Shh, it's okay. He doesn't usually mean half the things he says." Brooklyn said stroking her hair.   
  
"Brooklyn, you weren't serious about that impregnating thing, were you?" Brooklyn nodded gravely. "What about Jesse, how many times did you sleep with her?"   
  
"Twice. And she became pregnant both times. Our first daughter is living on Avalon as we speak. The second time was after she became ill, and three months into the pregnancy, the disease caused her to miscarry."   
  
"How terrible."   
  
"Yeah, tell me about it. It was hell for months after that. But I thought it would be the hardest thing we would have to go through, I was wrong."   
  
"Losing her did mean a lot to you. Did you ever find out what she had?" Brooklyn shook his head. "What about me, Brooklyn. Do you think I could become pregnant?"   
  
"It's too soon to tell. Usually two or three months, if it's an egg."   
  
"Egg?!"   
  
"But it could be live birth. That's the tricky part about a hybrid. . .Chris, what's wrong?"   
  
Christyana had suddenly become deathly pale. "Oh God, what would Owen do?"   
  
"Are you regreting what we did tonight? You know, it was your idea. And I'm not taking hell for it either."   
  
Chris looked close to tears again.   
  
"Hey Christy, don't be upset." He wrapped his wings around her. "We'll get through this together. Remember, you and I are one, now and forever." That's when it struck him. He had said the exact same thing to Jesse. Was he breaking his vow now that she was gone? It was his turn to turn pale.   
  
"Brooklyn, what's wrong?"   
  
"Nothing. I better leave before your dad comes back. I'll see you tomorrow night."   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn walked into the recreation room, and found Hudson right where he had been several hours ago. In front of the television. When the show was interrupted by a commercial, Brooklyn decided it would be a good time to ask.   
  
"Hudson can I ask you something?"   
  
"Ah, lad! There ye be. We've been all over the castle lookin' for ya."   
  
"Well here I am."   
  
"All right, what do ye need ta know?"   
  
"Well, you know Jesse's been dead for a while, and I was wondering, when is it long enough before you take a new mate?"   
  
"Lad, what've ye gone and done?"   
  
Brooklyn blushed.   
  
"Not with Burnette's daughter. . ."   
  
Brooklyn turned a deeper shade of crimson.   
  
"I still have one more question. If you do take a new mate, wouldn't that be breaking the promise you made with the other."   
  
"Ye've got a point there lad. But what's dead and gone. . ."   
  
"But Jesse also made me a promise. She said that we would be together again, one day in paradise. How can I go against that."   
  
"Jesse would want what would make ye happy. If that means taking a new mate, she would understand. Mayhaps she arranged with the Great Master, to have ye fall in love with Christyana. No one can really say."   
  
"Gee, I guess we are all coming up with points tonight."   
  
"That be the truth. But think about it today lad. It's not every millenium that one finds two pretty females."   
  
Hudson sauntered off to the kitchen for a midnight snack, leaving Brooklyn to think.   
  
* * *   
  
May 10, 2000   
  
Elisa shifted uncomfortalby on the sofa. Goliath gave her a worried look, but she just smiled sweetly at him.   
  
"Are you sure you're all right?"   
  
"Yeah, just a little awkward."   
  
"What did the doctor say?"   
  
"Any day now."   
  
"What is it? An egg, or a breathing child?"   
  
"What is this twenty questions?" Elisa asked feigning anger.   
  
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried about you, my Elisa."   
  
"An egg. That's the part that bothers me. I'm a human. I can't give birth to an egg. It's not phisically possible."   
  
"That's not true." a voice came from behind them. Brooklyn emerged from the shadows. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I was walking by. . ."   
  
"It's okay Brooklyn. Now what do you mean by 'that's not true'?"   
  
"I'm saying that it is possible for a human to bear a gargoyle egg. I've seen it done. Well I haven't seen it."   
  
"Who?" Elisa asked, eagerly.   
  
"Jesse."   
  
"No way. When?"   
  
"Back in Scotland, two years before the massacer."   
  
"That means that. . ."   
  
"We met her daughter on Avalon." Goliath finished. "And we did."   
  
"Now that you mention it, one of the females did remind me of Jesse, alot. What was her name. . ."   
  
"Odet." Brooklyn finished.   
  
"Odrianettania" Goliath corrected.   
  
"Say what?" Brooklyn asked.   
  
"That was her full name. Odrianettania."   
  
* * *   
  
"You should've seen the look on Owen's face when Christy asked him if he would buy her a pregnancy test since she's not allowed out of the castle." Fox told her husband over the phone.   
  
"Why does all the good stuff happen when I'm away on bussiness? So who is it?"   
  
"Well, from what I gathered from the clan, it's Brooklyn."   
  
"Brooklyn?! What that little son of a gun." Xanatos said chuckling. "Does Owen know?"   
  
"He's still recovering from his daughter's question. He still may be in the same state when you get back."   
  
"Five days?! That bad huh?"   
  
"I personally think it's kinda cute. Owen's so protective of Christy. To think about what she's been doing behind his back. . ."   
  
"And yet in front of his nose." Xanatos added   
  
". . .it just makes me want to go hysterical."   
  
"Listen Fox dear, I gotta go. I'll see you friday."   
  
"Okay darling, Ciao."   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn sat out on Christy's bed. "Well, is it positive or negative?" he asked impaitently.   
  
"Hold on!" she said back to him. Then, looking at the pregnancy test, "Owen is gonna have a cow."   
  
"What?"   
  
"Nothing!"   
  
"Christy, come on." he was getting sick of waiting. "You're either pregnant, or you aren't. This doesn't involve rocket science."   
  
"A little impaitient, aren't we?" Elisa asked standing in the doorway.   
  
"It didn't take Jesse this long."   
  
"Jesse wanted a baby though, maybe Chris doesn't. Don't pressure her, I know how she feels." Elisa said, patting her large midsection.   
  
Christyana came out of the bathroom looking like she was about ot cry.   
  
"Chris. . ." Brooklyn approached her cautiously. ". . .what was it?"   
  
Chisty gave him a secret smile. Brooklyn grinned and swept her into his arms.   
  
"That's wonderful!" He said spinning her in a circle.   
  
"Brooklyn! The baby!"   
  
"Sorry." he set her back down on her feet. The two shared a kiss, and Elisa watched, a hint of amusment on her face. "Uh, Elisa. . ."   
  
"I'll leave now. Congratualtions, both of you." she said backing out of the room and closing the door.   
  
"A baby." Christy said, taking his hands .   
  
"Our baby." he corrected, and rested a hand on her still-flat stomach.   
  
* * *   
  
"I HATE ALL MEN! THEY'RE EVIL! GOLIATH, THIS IS YOUR FAULT! GET IT THE HELL OUT OF ME!" Elisa screamed as another contraction hit hard   
  
Goliath recoiled. Such hatred had never left Elisa's lips.   
  
"Don't worry," Fox said , "she isn't thinking." then dabbing Elisa's brow with a cloth she said "Come now Elisa, you don't really mean that."   
  
As the contraction subsided, Elisa fell back onto the bed, whimpering. Goliath moved back to her , and reached out a hand.   
  
"Don't touch me!" she said giving him a warning glance.   
  
"Now Elisa, be nice." Fox said.   
  
"The contractions are almost continuous," David said, "on the next one, she should push."   
  
"Should we get the 'medical task force' in here?" Fox asked.   
  
"It might be best."   
  
Elisa gave them a worried look.   
  
"Don't worry, they won't interfere unless they're needed." David said, then whistled loudly.   
  
Puck, Christyana, and Alexander appeared behind them.   
  
"How exciting!" Puck said. "It's been over a thousand years since I've seen a human give birth to a gargoyle egg."   
  
"You were in there with Jesse?" Goliath asked.   
  
"Never left her side. Oberon told me to keep an eye on her."   
  
"Don't worry 'lisa." Alex said. "We'll help."   
  
Christyana took Elisa's hand.   
  
"Get ready. . ." David said, ". . .and PUSH!"   
  
* * *   
  
Elisa lay, fatigued, on the bed. Goliath sat at her side, stroking her hair. She smiled weakly at him.   
  
"I want to see it." she said. Goliath helped her sit up, and for the first time she beheld her child.   
  
"It's a fine egg." Christy said, wraping it in a blanket.   
  
"I wish we didn't have to wait ten years for it to hatch." Elisa said.   
  
The 'medical team' grinned and formed a triangle around the egg.   
  
"We must give you our gift for the baby." Chris said.   
  
A faint glow filled the room, outlining the three figures in silver. Elisa and Goliath stared at the egg.   
  
The egg, blue-tinted ivory with darker mottlings, was rocking gently. A thin crack appeared,   
and then another. A section bulged outward. Goliath pried up the bit of shell. A thick fluid trickled out.   
  
And then, a tiny hand pressed against the bluish membrane, five fingers clearly visible. The egg rocked again, more violently, and broke apart right down the middle.   
  
A loud, lusty squall filled the room. Elisa stared at the baby girl, and felt tears come to her eyes. She was red, wrinkled, annoyed, and the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.   
  
The magic, having been worked, faded from the room, and left the three fey, two exhausted and one as exuberant as ever, standing there staring at the infant.   
  
Christyana lifted up the baby, and wrapped her in the blanket. "Elisa, she's beautiful."   
  
"What are you going to name her?" Puck asked.   
  
Elisa and Goliath glanced at each other, then nodded and said in unison. "Jesse."   
  
David and Fox stood there grinning, then snuck out ot tell the waiting family members the good news.   
  
* * *   
  
Chris rested her head on Brooklyn's shoulder. He rested his hand on her stomach.   
  
"I love you Chris."   
  
"Love you too Brooklyn."   
  
"That was a nice thing you did for Elisa and Goliath."   
  
"Yeah, but it left me totally drained. I feel like I could sleep for a week."   
  
"You know what we have done for a long time?"   
  
"No, what?"   
  
"Made music."   
  
Chris gave him a funny look.   
  
"Not that kind of music. I mean, you haven't played the piano and I haven't sung, for almost a month."   
  
"I'd prefer not to go in there, while Owen reads his paper. I don't think he's forgiven me for what we did yet."   
  
"Give him time." Brooklyn said, wrapping his wings around her. "Give him time."   
  
* * *   
  
November 23, 2000   
Thanksgiving   
  
"Chris, it's gonna be okay." Brooklyn said stroking her sweat streaked hair.   
  
"Shut the hell up!" She yelled, breathing hard.   
  
David snickered as he checked her dialation. Brooklyn backed away from her.   
  
"Don't worry." David said, "Fox said the same kind of things to me. She doesn't mean it."   
  
"Nobody asked you to talk either!" Chris yelled at him. Another contraction hit hard. "$#!^!"   
  
"Just relax Christy. Breathe, just like I taught you." Fox said, dabbing the girls brow. "That's a good girl. Now let's try and keep the profanity down."   
  
Christy nodded, and hissed as another contraction hit her.   
  
"You're doin' great, Christy. On the next contraction I want you to push, okay?" David said to her   
  
Again Christy nodded, and readied herself for extreme pain.   
  
"Get ready. . .Push!"   
  
* * *   
  
Owen paced in the makeshift waiting room. "What is taking so long?"   
  
Elisa and the clan watched with hints of amusment as Owen paced the floor.   
  
"Honestly Owen, give her some credit. These things take time." Elisa said, lifting her baby to her shoulder and gently patting her back.   
  
Christy's scream came from the room. Owen shuddered and paced faster.   
  
* * *   
  
A catlike whine was heard, and Xanatos grinned. "Congratulations, it's a girl."   
  
Christy fell back on the bed, exhausted. David wrapped the girl in a blanket and handed her to the new mother. Brooklyn felt tears come to his eyes as he watched his love accept the small bundle.   
  
"Chris, she's beautiful."   
  
Christy found herself crying, too. Half of it was from pure joy, and the other half from fatigue. "Go get my father." she said.   
  
* * *   
  
"Could it possibly take any longer?" Lex asked. "Owen, you're wearing a groove in the floor."   
  
Owen flashed him a look, but that was as far as he went when Xanatos cleared his throat.   
  
"Well?" Broadway asked.   
  
"I am pleased to announce that Owen is the granfather of a beautiful baby girl." Now it was Owen's turn to cry. "They're ready to see you now."   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn had reluctantly left his slumbering love and newborn child, but he felt this was something he had to do. As he flew over the city he watched its inhabitants, engorged on turkey, solemnly go on with their business.   
  
He landed in the churchyard, and crept around the gravestones, looking for the one of his lost love. There, illuminated on the hillside by the full moon, was the gravemarker bearing the name: Jessondra Michelle Xanatos May 5, 979-December 25, 1999.   
  
"I wonder if people walking by find that strange." He said to himself, glancing at the date.   
  
Carefully he knelt down and placed the flowers on the stone. "Hey, Jess, sorry I haven't visited in a while, but things have gotten kinda hecktic. You probably know that I've met Christyana, and now we have a baby girl. But I'm not trying to replace you or our daughter, I just. . .I don't know. After you left, I felt so. . .empty. Then I met Chris, and the empty place seemed to fill. And I can't help but think that I'm breaking my promise, when you're keeping yours."   
Brooklyn bowed his head and let the tears fall on the hard cold earth.   
  
"Brooklyn, my love. . ."   
  
He picked up his head and stared at the glowing form of Jesse in front of him. "Jess? Is that you?"   
  
"Of course it's me. Who else would visit you from the Great Beyond in this frigid weather?" The image said. smiling.   
  
"Are you an angel."   
  
"Uh-huh. A guardian angel. Your guardian angel. I've never left your side. And I'm not upset about you and Christy. In part it was my idea. We're not supposed to play favorites, but a great man once said 'the law that cannot be broken, can surely be bent.' Brooklyn, to see you unhappy because of me was heartbreaking."   
  
"Jesse, it is you." He said standing up. "It's been so long."   
  
"Come here, I want to show you something." He stood and walked to her side. "You had me buried with this, but I want you to have it. Give it to Christy, express your love." She placed the small golden ring in his hand. "It was my most cherished item, but I no longer need it." She pulled him into a hug and gently stroked his hair. "And my promise still stands. I know that we will be together once again."   
  
He smiled and finished the sentence. "Together again, in paradise." He pressed his lips up against hers, and in an instant she faded and was gone, it was the wind that was now caressing his face."   
  
* * *   
  
Brooklyn kissed Christy on her lips. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. "Evenin' Sleepyhead."   
  
"Did I sleep all day?"   
  
"Just about." He said. The baby began to fuss from the cradle.   
  
"Brooklyn, could you get her for me?"   
  
Brooklyn went to the cradle and picked up the whimpering infant. "We still need to name her."   
  
"And I know the perfect name. We shall call her Jessondra."   
  
"Thank you." he said giving her a hug.   
  
He was finally happy. And as he stared at the nursing child. He realized he had found his legacy.   
  
The end 


End file.
